The End of Men? I certainly hope not, but responsibility has to be taken for where we’re at right now…

Reading through Tony Featherstone’s article “The Planet of Women” this morning in TheAge.com (which is well worth reading I might add), he brought this to my attention…

As reported in the July/August 2010 ATLANTIC MAGAZINE

Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same. For years, women’s progress has been cast as a struggle for equality. But what if equality isn’t the end point? What if modern, postindustrial society is simply better suited to women? A report on the unprecedented role reversal now under way— and its vast cultural consequences… read on

What if modern, postindustrial society needs to be remoulded to suit the Lifestyle that women aspire to, and that men will also definitely benefit from?

What if all considerations of Life were treated equally as importantly, without there being the lop-sided tilt towards work as it is now?

What if all the entrepreneurial mothers, who have left work as we know it to pursue their own version of what that Life needs to look like, were encouraged to return to the corporate jungle to re-vegetate and re-establish the equilibrium?

Replacing women with men will not be the entire answer, we know that. But to keep doing things as we have always done them will not rectify the straining issues right now either. At least the conversation has started…

Hazel Hawke’s Vital Role in Bob Hawke’s Success…

I was really pleased to see this article in TheAge this morning. Not only does it give another side to the “love story”, it also shows Hazel to be a prime example of an entrepreneurial mother, even when in a relationship. She did amazing things with the opportunities she had, and that’s all one can DO. Hats off to Hazel…

…It did not take long for Hazel to develop a following of her own – which in subsequent elections became a major reason voters supported Hawke. Hazel’s speech to the National Press Gallery in January 1984 established her as an unassuming, disarmingly honest, sincere and intelligent human being – an ordinary woman, one we could all identify with and admire for the way she handled herself.

There was a strong feeling among women that if Hazel stayed with Bob, he couldn’t be as bad as reports suggested.

In an interview on Sunday following the telemovie, Hawke struggled to remember what Hazel’s interests were as the prime minister’s wife. He came up with ”education”, but he could not remember any details.

Children, their welfare and the arts were Hazel’s priorities. Among other organisations, the Brotherhood of St Laurence, Austcare, the Australian Youth Orchestra, the NSW Heritage Council, World Wide Fund for Nature and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation had Hazel’s support. This meant she worked for them; she was not just a figurehead… keep reading